However this time the media wave comes with with with and additional one-two punch that was long overdue: A celebrity bares his soul about what he experienced and the FBI have been investigating the claims of abuse.

Amongst the ensuing fallout a virtual tsunami of media articles and related coverage is currently flooding the internet, one of the best sidebar tidbits this blogger came across was the article featured on the backlink of this post from the Manage Your Life blog on Yahoo!Shine.

This gem struck me as not only well worth re-posting on this micro-blog for educational purposes, but also worthy of expanding each item listed with additional source materials that support the information highlighted The New Yorker expose.

13 ways Scientology just got creepier[The Annotated Edition]

Originally by Piper Weiss, Yahoo!Shine Staff with additional hyperlinks, images and dox inserted after each item, and supplemental commentary by this blogger noted in accented text. Click on thumbnail images for additional reference on any of the visual annotations.

"Journalist Lawrence Wright interviews current and former members of faith, including Academy Award winning writer Paul Haggis, who denounced his three-decade affiliation with Scientology publicly. The 28-page investigation into the history and horror stories of Scientology is chock full of weird. Here are the highlights:"

1. The FBI probe: The article reveals that the
church is under investigation from the FBI for human trafficking.
Former members have made claims of unpaid, forced labor and
physical abuse from current head of the organization, David
Miscavige.

2. The founder's fake past: The church
fabricated documents about founder L. Ron Hubbard's war
heroism, claims The New Yorker.

The DocumentCloud from The New Yorker supports Wright's conclusions. Additionally, see the following classic body of work by Chris Owen, a British historian who studied Scientology extensively. (click thumbnail for further reading)

3. The celebrities: A lot of them were
siphoned by a Scientologist acting teacher at The Beverly Hills
Playhouse. That's how Anne Archer joined the fold. Now her son,
Tommy Davis, heads up the church's Celebrity Centre. In other
news, bossman Miscavige was Tom Cruise's best man when
he wed Katie Holmes.

Note the Tom & Katie photo from the original articlebelow, and cross reference this bike to the motorcycle shown on the left in the photo added for clarifying item #12.

4. The six-figure membership: Members can spend upwards of
$100,000 on courses and training in the church.

The vast number of levels on the Scientology Grade Chart is seemingly endless, and the farther up you the more outrageous the costs become. The fee schedules in the following collection of dox illustrates how easy it is for membership in this cult to lead to financial ruin.

5. The fenced-off boot-camp: If you don't
have that money you can work for your faith as a Sea Org member at
Gold Base, a compound in central California. Miscavige spends a lot
of his time there and most high-level members make there way to the
base at some point for brief, intensive stays.

6. The fenced-off prison: There's also a
re-education camp near Gold Base. Here's the description:
"Sea Org members who have 'failed to fulfill their
ecclesiastical responsibilities' may be sent to one of the
church’s several Rehabilitation Project Force locations. Defectors
describe them as punitive re-education camps. In California, there
is one in Los Angeles; until 2005, there was one near the Gold
Base, at a place called Happy Valley. Bruce Hines, the defector
turned research physicist, says that he was confined to R.P.F. for
six years, first in L.A., then in Happy Valley. He recalls that the
properties were heavily guarded and that anyone who tried to flee
would be tracked down and subjected to further
punishment."

9. The most bizarre game of musical chairs
ever: A violent version of the
kid's game set to Bohemian Rhapsody, mandated by Miscavaige,
took place one night at Gold Base. It lasted all night, and by the
ned people were punching each other. As full-time residents and
workers at the Base, they were playing for their livelihood.
Everyone who lost would be shipped off the Base immediately,
deprived of their shelter and $50 a week income.

Marc Headley was the first to disclose the infamous Musical Chairs Incident, and his book listed above goes into further details. Since we already featured that reference, it seems apropos to note the gut wrenching story of torture, abuse and humiliation endure by Jeff Hawkins during his days at Gold Base as featured in the Counterfeit Dreams book.

10. The most bizarre celebrity anecdote ever:
Actor Josh Brolin claims to have witnessed John Travolta using his
Scientology practice to heal the wounded leg of Marlon Brando at a
Hollywood party. “I watched this process going on—it was very
physical,” Brolin recalls. “I was thinking, This is really f-------
bizarre! Then, after ten minutes, Brando opens his eyes and says,
‘That really helped. I actually feel different!’ ” (Travolta,
through a lawyer, called this account “pure
fabrication.”)

11. The horror stories of Scientology kids: For kids who grow up in the church, there’s a thing called a ‘freeloader’ tab. If you want to leave the church’s fold, you’re charged with a six figure debt for unpaid coursework,
according to ecclesiastical policy. Former underage members, including the niece of Miscavige who joined at 12, have formed an online support group called exscientologykids.com. They talk about how hard it is to leave the fold because they never received a formal education, and instead were put to work as manual laborers.

The article states: "In 2009, two former Sea Org
members, Claire and Marc Headley, filed lawsuits against the
church. They had both joined as children. Claire became a member of
the Sea Org at the age of sixteen, and was assigned to the Gold
Base. She says she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone where she was
going, not even her mother, who was made to sign over
guardianship."

12. The horror stories of dealing with Tom Cruise: A former member claims he was ordered to pimp Tom Cruise's motorcycles, pro-bono, of course. Haggis claims Cruise reported him to the church when he joked about Scientology to Stephen Spielberg on the set of War of the Worlds. Another former member claims a botched project for Cruise resulted in a member being sent to the work camp for a stint.

From John Brousseau settles it, the personal account of the former Sea Org member who did the customization work to trick out Tom Cruise's favorite toys for $50 a week. Click the thumbnail to view the full-size image and notice the same motorcycle shown above with Tom & Katie is on the left:

13. The horror story of Scientology chief's
wife: David Miscavage’s wife, Shelly, hired several
people for jobs at Gold Base, without her husband's permission.
Shortly thereafter she disappeared. When the New Yorker asked
Scientology spokesperson Tommy Davis of her whereabouts he said, “I
definitely know where she is.” He didn't elaborate.

Nobody knows where Shelly is, but iy is widely hell DM is inseparable from his communicator Laurisse (Lou) Stuckenbrock as shown in the 2nd photo below from July 2008 when DM & Lou were seemingly on a double date with Tom & Katie at the Laguna Seca Moto GP in Monterey, California. The original photos by celebuzz.com recently disappeared but highlights captured here for posterity.

YES- Long post is long, but it needed to be said because the rabbit hole runs deep in Scientology. And considering the long history of insanity surrounding the Sea Org's Billion Year Contract, it needs to be said again and again. Until it stops.

Click the title of this post or ob any other entries on this micro blog to visit the related link for a given announcement.